Leander Mayor Chris Fielder will not seek re-election

Leander Mayor Chris Fielder announced Friday that he will not be seeking re-election in 2018.

COURTESY CITY OF LEANDER

Posted
Friday, January 12, 2018 9:15 am

By NICK BROTHERS, HCN Managing Editor

Leander Mayor Chris Fielder announced on Friday that he's stepping away from the job he's held for six years.

“It has been an honor to serve the people of Leander as mayor for the past six years,” Fielder said. “This has been one of the greatest things I have ever done, and so many people have supported me throughout this journey.”

Fielder was first elected to Place 5 on the City Council in 2007 and has served as mayor since 2012.

Fielder said his reasons for not seeking re-election were to spend more time with his family and allow for a new mayor with different ideas to build on what the city has accomplished, according to a statement released Friday.

“I think it’s just time for me to step away,” he said. “We have some of the best city staff in Texas, and they deserve much of the credit for Leander’s success. I know the next mayor will be in good hands.”

Since first being elected in 2012, Leander has grown from a town population of 30,437 to 55,910 with an operating budget of $35.5 million dollars.

Fielder said some of his proudest achievements as an elected official were helping to adopt local property tax rate reductions in each of the last six years, passing the city’s 2016 general bond election propositions, overseeing the widening of Hero Way West, and initiating the development of Veterans Park.

“It has been a great pleasure working with Mayor Fielder,” said City Manager Kent Cagle. “He is one of those rare people that can make a difficult job look easy. The public did not see his countless hours of studying, talking to various interest groups and forging consensus on big policy issues. Mayor Fielder leaves Leander in much better shape than he found it. He will be missed.”

Both Cedar Park and Leander will elect a mayor and three council members in the May 5 election. The first day of candidate filings will begin on Jan. 17 and end Feb. 16. In Leander, places 2, 4 and 6 on City Council will be up for re-election.

Fielder will give his last mayoral state of the city address at a reception hosted by Leander Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at Hill Country Bible Church Leander. For event details, go to http://www.leandercc.org/.